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What is a Gaming Summer Camp?

No, This does not mean your kid is going to sit around playing games for eight hours a day.

Greater Good Gaming Summer Camp (G3SC) is a place for like-minded kids with passion for games to make new friends and refine their gaming skills in order to make them smarter, healthier and happier.

For more information on the science behind our gaming principles, check out our References page.

There are a lot of ways your kid can spend his/her summer. Why should they spend it with us?

The most important reason is that your child loves to play games. We don’t want them to feel ashamed of that. We want to embrace their love of games and help them turn it into a healthy hobby that positively influences every area of their lives!

How do I sign up?

We are launching G3SC in the summer of 2018. Registration is available now through June 20th.

If you have any questions, please email us at g3summercamp@gmail.com

What is a day at G3SC like?

The day is divided into 45 minute segments which will change daily. One daily example might include:

A long walk and outdoor game to start the day.

1st *Game session – a fast-paced party game like Mario Kart 8 for the Nintendo Switch.

Game Development – Develop your own game using RPG Maker MV.

Lunch – a chance to socialize with other campers and form new friendships. And eat, of course! =)

Lecture series – A group discussion designed to teach kids how to to maximize the benefits of gaming (e.g. building determination and problem solving) and how to avoid the potential downside of gaming (e.g. addiction, online bullying).

3rd *Game session – Rocket League. A competitive game where you not only play virtual soccer, but you do so while controlling a rocket-powered race car!

Special Activity – Campers vs. Coaches. An epic tournament!

Wrapping up – group riddles/logic puzzles to end the day.

The camp will be Monday – Friday from 830am-530pm for 1 week.

On Saturday, from 9am-noon, the campers will unveil all their hard work in the form of a community charity event!

This event will be planned by them, and the games provided will even be designed and programmed by them!

What is a *Game session?

When playing games the G3 way, we don’t just sit and “veg out”.

Each Game Session starts with a short cardio workout. The game will be played for 20 minutes, then there will be a 5 minute review. Campers will get up and stretch, talk about what strategies worked best and how to improve the next time they play, then they will do another short round of cardio and jump back in for 20 more minutes of play!

What games will my child be exposed to?

It is true that too often, kids are playing games that, frankly, they shouldn’t. Games with extreme violence, sexual content, and strong language are unfortunately too easy for kids to get their hands on.

All of our games are carefully chosen by our staff and have received a rating of E (suitable for everyone) or E10+ (suitable for everyone 10 years or older) by the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board).

Here is a complete list of all the games your child might play at our camp. If you have any questions or concerns about any of the games, please contact us at g34summercamp@gmail.com.

Mario Kart Deluxe 8 – Nintendo Switch

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle – Board game.

RPG Maker MV – Personal Computer game (PC)

Rocket League – (PC)

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes – Virtual Reality: HTC Vive

Overcooked – PC

Brawlhalla – PC

Blazerush – PC

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime – PC

Discjam – PC

Ultimate Chicken Horse – PC

Hidden Plain Sight – PC

Lethal League – PC

Magical Drop 5 – PC

Rayman Legends – PC

Speedrunners – PC

Toybox Turbos – PC

Tricky Towers – PC

Gang Beasts – PC

Runbow – PC

Stikbold – PC

Assault Android Cactus – PC

Tiny Brains – PC

How is this going to help in my child’s development?

Participants will be directly involved in actively making a difference in their community. We call this: Community-enrichment.

They will also learn how to use games to make them smarter, healthier, and happier. We call this: Self-enrichment.

Examples of Self-enrichment:

Leadership and Teamwork Skills

Video games have come a long way since Pong and Pac Man. There are now complicated, co-operative or competitive strategy games where players must work as a team to tackle difficult challenges. Learning how to work together is going to win the game, but more importantly, it is going to help kids become more effective teammates in school and in any future work environments.

Discipline and Grit

When we play a good, challenging game, we lose. A lot! Gamers fall in the hole, run out of time, and miss the target 80% of the time! All of that failure translates into a lot of grit! Gamers stick with difficult problems up to 2x longer than non-gamers.

Having the discipline to take a step back, evaluate the problem, and keep coming at it from different angles is an attitude towards playing games that is built in to our game camp.

Each time we sit down to play games, we take a break after 15 minutes to discuss what strategies worked, and which didn’t. What new tactics can we use to conquer this challenging task?

Sportsmanship and Ethics

One of the best things kids learn when they enter into traditional sports programs is how to win and lose gracefully. This is a key component that goes missing when we let kids loose, playing games without any guidance.

It is important to have coaches as well as your peers supporting good conduct whether you win or lose. This is true whether you’re playing a video game, on a sports-field, or out in the real world. We are all painfully aware of the kinds of toxic harassment and bullying that are commonplace in online environments. These behaviors need to be addressed at younger ages if we want to see them changed! Kids need to understand that what they say online matters. Hiding behind a screen name is no excuse to be cruel.

By playing together and making friends at camp, kids will learn to respect their teammates, as well as their opponents, any time they play games.